My wife & I moved to the Sunshine State in the summer of 2016. I know, what were we thinking? Both of us were life-long Midwesterners with limited sunshine & heat our entire lives and then, pow, whamo, bam! We braved Florida at its hottest!
One thing we had in our favor, both of us are basically solar powered. We loved Michigan summers when the sunshine blazed hot and bright, Winter…..not so much. Therefore, after more than half a century as Northerners, we headed south.
I must admit, Florida summers can be brutal at times, even for hard-core heat enthusiasts such as ourselves. I quickly learned that my dresser full of my favorite cotton T-shirts would have to go. I sweated through a cotton shirt in 30 minutes. It was sad parting with all my favorite shirts adorned with local haunts from back home and sports teams, but I suddenly had a rich supply of rags to wash my cars with.
I quickly learned that polyester was in. The thing about the polyester T-shirts, that are so popular for their quick drying traits, is most of them have a bit of spandex thrown in among the polyester. Now that’s ok when you are in the prime of your life with six-pack abs, but the body-hugging material these shirts are made of are somewhat less flattering when you are sporting a pony-keg for abs.
I have always been an outdoor enthusiast. I love my nature time. Whether running, walking, hiking, fishing, hunting or beaching, I’m happiest outside. I quickly learned that you cannot spend all day at a Florida beach in the sun. A couple of hours are like an extreme challenge when summer is at its peak. Hell, even the shade feels like Hades.
So, go cool off in the ocean you say? Yeah right, wading in is like entering a hot tub. And, even on Michigan’s hottest days, you could always count on an ice-cold shower if you needed to cool down. Not in Florida. I discovered that in the summer when you flip the selector all the way to cold you could practically make tea with the temperature of the water coming out, and I’m not talking ice-tea. Now that I have a few Florida summers under my belt I have somewhat acclimated.
I certainly hope no one thinks I regret moving here as I love it here. Yes, I’m complaining a bit about our summers but that is what I think our species does best. No matter how good we have it, we still like to complain about something. It’s like the individual that suddenly wins the Mega-gazillions lottery and complains about how much is taken out in taxes.
Year-round Florida living isn’t for everyone. To some it’s an ideal vacation spot to escape a long winter, to other permanent denizens its home. Despite our complaining, we love it brutal summers and all, because we know that just around the corner is Florida winter. We bundle up in our winterwear, run our heaters, and brave the 50-60 degree lows for 4-5 days until summer returns.